The official blog of Thomas J. Black: independent author and professional blind guy

Tag Archives: Zakk Sabbath

I don’t LIKE being an angry-ass curmudgeon. If I could change even the most trivial annoyance into something awesome, I’d do it. I’m not one of those guys who complains because I like the sound of my own voice, or because it’ll get me more readers if I’m a negative fucking Nancy.

That being said, Kansas gives me a lot to complain about. Whether it be something huge like the fact the governor is an idiot who has inflicted Reaganomics onto us all and left the state with a potential billion dollar debt to pay off by the end of the decade, or something trivial like the only rock station that played anything past 1991 suddenly establishing a cutoff date around 2005 or so and refusing to play anything from this fucking year, it seems like this state lives to infuriate me.

And speaking of local radio, it’s that time of the year here in KC. That wonderful time where we spend the next three to four months hyping up a day-long concert. A concert that… Honestly, I’m surprised we’re having.

98.9 The Rock has not been itself lately. The Annual Freaker’s Ball and Twisted Christmas events (the latter devolving into a cheap excuse to invite Steel Panther over to KC on a yearly basis, but I’m not complaining) didn’t happen this year. Up until this month, every single concert they’ve been advertising has been some 70s throwback like The Led Zeppolin Experience, or The Pink Floyd experience, or The Red Hot Chili Peppers coming to town. Shit, the only reason you ever hear about a modern band like Ghost coming to town is because they’re opening for Iron Maiden or something. All of this only serves to perpetuate the timewarp this state is stuck in. Forcefeed the audience the belief that rock died in the 1990s, and Kurt Cobane killed himself so he couldn’t be tried for murdering it. Isn’t that right, KQRC? You assholes who have officially programmed me to cringe in disgust and annoyance every fucking time AC/DC comes on the air anymore.

Okay, I’m calming down. Seriously, it’s hilarious to think that about this time two years ago, I was complaining about Five Finger Death Punch getting played into the ground. You know what I’d give for that playlist to make a comeback?

The point I was getting at is that considering this dramatic shift in format, and cancelation of what I’ve considered 98.9 traditions, I’m legitimately surprised we’re even HAVING Rockfest in the first place. True, it’s at the KC Speedway instead of Liberty Memorial this year… Which only furthers my belief not enough people came to last year’s Rockfest, and the station might be hemourhaging money, but that’s honestly just theory at this point.

Still, I had a feeling this year’s Rockfest was going to suck. Considering the most recent band they’ve been promoting is either The Red Hot Chili Peppers, or Iron Maiden, I had a feeling there either wasn’t going to be a Rockfest, or Rockfest was going to become another nostalgia circuit show like Rocklahoma or something. They released the lineup earlier in the month, and… Honestly, my thoughts are mixed.

And so, for your enjoyment and my desire to purge the chattering voices in my head, here’s my thoughts of Rockfest based entirely on the lineup. Because honestly, relocating to a smaller venue is easy to forgive if the bands can hold my attention.

Opening up this year’s Rockfest on the second stage is a band by the name of One Less Reason. I’ve never heard of them, and I doubt most people have. This has little to do with the previously mentioned cutoff date hampering the exposure of new music in KC, and more to do with the fact the opening act on the second stage is almost always a newbie that no one’s ever heard of. Barring that, they’re an indie band that nobody who doesn’t go to that one bar has ever heard. So yeah.

I listened to One Less Reason on Spotify, and honestly, they’re… Okay. They’re not horrible, but they didn’t necessarily light my world on fire either. If anything, they sound a little overdramatic. Seriously, check out the music video for “Break Me”. I appreciate they decided to give us more than just a video of the band playing, but holy hell. I seriously thought the first thirty seconds or so was a YouTube ad I couldn’t skip.

Up next is Sidewise. They’ve been here before, and I liked them well enough. So far, I’m thinking of showing up late enough to maybe skip One Less Reason, and catch these guys.

Up next, we have Candlebox. AKA, those dudes who wrote “Far Behind”. And literally nothing else. I don’t know if they’re legitimately a two-hit-wonder, or if that’s just 98.9 humoring all three of Candlebox’s fans by occasionally playing this one song, and going right back into spanking my eardrums with “Back in Black” for the infinity-billionth time. Kind of an odd choice. Even if they’re a one or two-hit-wonder everywhere else in the world, it’s a good enough hit to hold my interest. Doing good so far, 98.9

Next up is Crobat. I… Have no idea who these guys are. I think they were at a Rockfest or two before this one, but I couldn’t tell you anything about them. And I probably even watched them on stage the year they were there and everything. Oh well, I could use the refresher. Worst case scenario, the main stage is usually starting up by now, and if I end up hating them, I don’t have to stick around for them.

After them, we have Blackberry Smoke: that super obscure underground band that’s all over the place. I’ve heard them, and I honestly can’t tell if this is rock or country. If they’re country, we have ourselves some hardcore Trashville “city faggot in a cowboy hat” caliber country right here. If it’s rock… It kind of reminds me of American Bang: a one-hit-wonder (maybe) who’s ultimate claim to fame was that their one hit was the first theme song ever for WWE NXT. I guarantee you the ONLY reason these guys are coming is because they’re buds with Johnny Dare. Not that this is a bad thing, but honestly, they’re not my cup of tea.

Up next, we have Tom Keifer: the former frontman for Cinderella. Oh boy. I can hardly wait to skip this act entirely. If you know me, or if you followed my old blog, you know how I feel about hair metal. For the newbies… Basically imagine Steel Panther without a punchline, and you literally have the entirety of hair metal. It’s a joke, and it’s not a funny one either. And yes, this is coming from someone who cut his teeth on grunge growing up. I’d rather have a bunch of semi-intelligible homeless dudes from Seattle than a bunch of glittery transvestites who are TOTALLY super straight any day.

And really, what can I say about Cinderella. Near as I can tell, they’re pretty much the status quo for that generation. I have a pretty good feeling Tom Keifer’s set is going to be nothing but Cinderella covers. So if you like Cinderella, then you have motivation. If you’re like me, though, you’re already seeing what’s on the main stage, or hanging out at the concession stand/merchandise stand.

Rounding out the main stage is a band by the name of Zakk Sabbath. I have no idea who these people are, but based on the fact they’re the ONLY second stage act that gets a soundbyte in the promos, and said soundbyte is a clip of “Iron Man” from BLACK Sabbath… Yeah, I smell cover band. Black Sabbath is more my speed, but again, keep that timewarp perpetuated, 98.9. *sigh*

Then we get to the main stage.

Opening things up is… P.O.D.? Holy shit, those guys are still around? Here I thought those guys broke up. Or they disappeared into the ether, and retreated to the sanctimonious realm of Christian rock. Don’t even get me started: this article by itself is taking for fucking ever to write.

Honestly, the fact P.O.D. was a Christian band always put a bit of a raincloud over my head. I loved rap-metal, but I was a thirteen or fourteen year old boy who was in open rebellion against all things Jesus. The one saving grace of P.O.D. in the longrun, though, was that they were never really in your face about it. Yeah, they looked on the brighter side, which was a nu-metal no no, but at least they weren’t forcefeeding me heavy-handed Christian symbolism. More than I can say for those jerks in Skillet.

I might actually check that show out. Yeah, it’s a total nostalgia circuit show, but it’s MY nostalgia. And yes, that does make me a hypocrite for railing against the nostalgia circuit, then immediately turning around and enjoying a nostalgia circuit esque show. Big whoop, want to fight about it? Well it’ll have to wait till I’m done with this.

After P.O.D., we have… Oh dear god. We have Buckcherry.

If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a trillion times: WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU PEOPLE SEE IN BUCKCHERRY!? Buckcherry is, hands down, the worst band I have ever heard in my entire life. Seriously, even at their absolute worst, Slipknot was still a trip to the fucking circus. Even The Dillenger Escape Plan has some sort of pattern to its cacophony. Hell, even AC/DC, burnt out on them as I am, at least sounds like music. Buckcherry is fucking terrible. “Crazy Bitch” is the equivalent of ear rape, and it’s embarrassing you people enjoy this shit song that any god damn thirteen-year-old could write in their sleep. Josh Todd couldn’t carry a tune if you gave him a god damn forklift. This band should’ve died in 2002 when everybody refused to buy “Time Bomb”. But for some reason, they came back. And we LET them come back. And they’re never going to go away, no matter how much they suck , because you idiots decided after FIVE YEARS of absence, they needed to come back.

Ugh, fuck those guys. Buckcherry suckvery.

Okay, I’m done. What else do we have?

Well, after that exercise in misanthropy, we have… Collective Soul? Where are they getting these guys? Here we have another band that 98.9 has perpetuated into one-hit-wonderdom. Except I’m positive Collective Soul have written a lot more than just “Shine”. Not that “Shine is a bad song or anything (far from it), but I’d certainly like to hear more. Of course, such a request would cut into all that Pink Floyd time, so I’m not surprised I won’t be getting it, but still…

Up next is RATT. Ugh. Again, I’d point out the one-hit-wonder thing, but to be honest, that one hit isn’t even all that great. Considering what era it came from, it could be a lot worse though. “Round and Round” isn’t my favorite song, but it could be worse. It could be something like “Talk Dirty”, or “Love Injection”, or literally anything by W.A.S.P. Ugh, my god those guys suck!

I was kind of surprised to hear RATT is even still around. I’m pretty sure that, at absolute best, RATT is a classic case of a band with none of its original members involved in it in any way, shape, or form anymore. Like Cannibal Corpse, or GWAR, or Anthrax for a while. The list goes on.

I’m also kind of surprised RATT are relegated to one-hit-wonder status. Considering where I live, and the mindset being perpetuated, you’d think they’d play every single they ever came out with, regardless of whether it was a success or a flop.

After that, we got Halestorm.

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Well at least they came from this decade. Not to mention they’re LOADS better than Buckcherry. Although saying that out loud is kind of like saying bologna tastes better than drywall.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: my one ultimate criticism of Halestorm is that they have no distinct sound. They’re not quite as bad as Nickelback, or Papa Roach anymore, or any other play-what’s-popular band, but there’s no consistency from song to song. One minute, Lzzy Hale is a badass who takes shit from no one (“Dirty Work”, “It’s Not You”, “You Call me Bitch Like it’s a Bad Thing”), and the next thing you know, she’s a fucking doormat (“I Miss the Misery”, “Mz. Hyde”, I almost want to say “The Familiar Taste of Poison”…). Otep is consistent. The Agonist was consistent until they replaced their vocalist. Tristania was consistent. Halestorm just isn’t consistent.

Also, as I’ve said before, “I Miss the Misery” hits too close to home for me. Not getting into that story again. At least, not here.

After them, we have Volbeat. And Finally, we have a band I actually want to see. A lot of the bands I’ve said I was interested in seeing up to this point, it was more of a “eh, why not? Could be fun.” sort of deal. Volbeat, on the other hand, kick ass, and I’ve wanted to see them for fucking ever. Also, they and Halestorm are literally the ONLY bands from this decade, which I find fucking depressing.

Especially since right after Volbeat, we get Sammy Hagar side project 352. Seriously, has ANY band Hagar’s put together lasted more than one album? And don’t say Van Halen, because that wasn’t HIS band. Aside from his Van Halen years, the only thing I know Hagar for is a solo career, and in more recent years, the band Chickenfoot. Chickenfoot: they are so totally decent!

And finally, we get to the main event of the evening. The band that everything, for better and for worse, has ultimately been leading up to. And… It’s Godsmack. Again.

Okay, I’ll be honest with you guys. I love Godsmack. Yeah, they write the same two or three songs over and over again, which suddenly makes me sound like a hypocrite for loving Godsmack despite it, and giving AC/DC shit for it, but fuck you, Godsmack isn’t getting played into the fucking pavement. I’m also aware Sully Erna is kind of a dick, but I’m at a point in my life where either all my childhood heroes turn out to be dicks, or I know better than to deify someone because they wrote a catchy tune I like to listen to while I punch things after a bad day. All that being said… Yeah, that solo album of his sucked.

There’s only one real reason I’m not all that excited for another Godsmack show, and that’s because I’m at a point where I’ve seen them to death. They definitely have some new songs since… What was it, 2010 when they last headlined? And they’re probably coming out with a new album pretty soon. I’ll never know for sure if the radio is all I have to go by, because FUCKING TIMEWARP! But even if there is new stuff coming out, I’m really not motivated to see Godsmack AGAIN.

In fact, pretty much the ONLY reason I would waste money on a ticket or two is for Volbeat. And literally nothing else.

And yes, I’m aware I hated “Seal the Deal and Let’s Boogie”” I still hold to my opinion that that album is a sign of coasting. Still, literally everything BEFORE that album was awesome, and even if it means sitting through songs from that album, it’d be worth it to see a band I’ve been dying to see live.

Sadly, one out of fifteen isn’t enough to motivate me to go. If I had to judge by the lineup, I have a feeling this year’s rockfest is going to be kind of a downer. I’m probably better off saving that fifty bucks for rent anyway, the rate I’m going.